Understanding and accompanying parents with autistic children

On the morning of March 30, at the National Children's Hospital, hundreds of parents attended a family meeting of children with autism spectrum disorder.

Many families detect abnormalities in their children early.

Ms. HTN (Kien Giang) discovered that her second son, who is 2 years old, is slower than his older brother. "The older brother is 16 months old and can already say two words. The younger brother, who is almost 2 years old, cannot speak yet. No matter how hard I try, he does not speak. When he asks for something, I do not respond, I want him to say it but he cannot speak so he acts irritable. The most frightening thing is that he bangs his head," said Ms. N.

Locally, after a 30-minute test, her child was diagnosed with signs of autism. She told her husband (who was working in Hanoi) to consult a doctor at a central hospital. After 2 months of monitoring, her child still did not improve, so she decided to temporarily take unpaid leave from work, take both children to Hanoi, and the family lives in Thanh Oai.

Doctors from the Department of Psychiatry, National Children's Hospital, also came to the same conclusion as the local doctor. In addition to sending her child to a public kindergarten, Ms. N. also sends her child to an intervention teacher for 2 hours a day. She periodically takes her child to the National Children's Hospital for check-ups.

Parents attend the meeting.

After 4 months of 1-1 intervention, the baby was able to say the word "cow". Now after 2 years, he can call his mother and express his needs, but his behavior is still very unusual.

"We have difficulty controlling my child's agitated and unusual behavior. When my parents do not respond promptly, my child still throws things or gets upset. He has not yet fully integrated into the group activities at kindergarten. Many times when my child behaves like that, I also get angry and yell at him. Sometimes I even lament why I gave birth to such a child," Ms. N. said, her eyes filled with tears.

At today's meeting, Ms. N. shared that she had acquired a lot of new knowledge, especially she understood more than before that she thought her child was not yet aware, but the doctors shared the knowledge that a child's awareness must start from feelings, from which behavior is formed. "Thanks to this additional knowledge, I will have a method to teach my child," Ms. N. confided.

Like Ms. N., Mr. D.NN's family (Dong Anh, Hanoi) said that the older their second daughter got, the slower she developed. The older brother in the family was also introverted and closed off, so the family did not think their child had any problems, so they hesitated to take her to the doctor. But when she was 2.5 years old, she spoke less, was irritable, screamed and had little communication, so the family did not delay taking her to the doctor.

Early last March, at the National Children's Hospital, his child was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. Not believing it, he took his child to Vinmec International General Hospital for examination and the results were similar.

The family sent their child for intervention just over a month ago. In addition to attending a private kindergarten, the family hired a teacher to come to the school to intervene with the child. Thanks to that, the child has made remarkable progress and is more willing to communicate.

"My family was a bit hesitant to take our child to the doctor until we found out he had autism. During this time, my wife and I have also shortened our working hours, come home earlier in the afternoon, and spend more time playing with our child," said Mr. H.

Improving knowledge for parents to accompany autistic children

Talking to parents of autistic children at the meeting, Dr. Cao Viet Tung, Deputy Director of the National Children's Hospital, said that in 2024, the hospital will receive 16,000 children with autism. The need to bring children for examination and consultation for autism spectrum disorders is increasing and long-term treatment is very important. However, each year, the hospital can only intervene for about 4,000-450 children, a very small number compared to the actual needs of parents.

Therefore, organizing meetings with families will have more time to share. Here, doctors will update treatment methods, evaluate the impact during the treatment process, consult the situation during the treatment process so that doctors can have the right intervention strategy for children, adhere to continuity and persistent care for children.

Specialist II Doctor Thanh Ngoc Minh, Head of Psychiatry Department shared with parents at the meeting.

According to Dr. Thanh Ngoc Minh, Head of the Department of Psychiatry, the Department of Psychiatry always puts the role of parents first in intervening in autistic children. Every year, the Department of Psychiatry, National Children's Hospital organizes a meeting and every year updates new knowledge on caring for autistic children in the world and Vietnam to support parents with autistic children to integrate into life early.

At this year's program, according to Master, Doctor Nguyen Mai Huong, Deputy Head of the Department of Psychiatry, the department's staff will equip parents with knowledge and skills and help them clearly understand their role; encourage and provide psychological support for parents; provide opportunities for parents to receive new knowledge, update and exchange with experts.

"Each year, the department will choose important topics for families, for example this year it is play activities and self-service. With each topic, we will focus on practice, helping parents apply it at home and find solutions to the difficulties they encounter.

The meeting with parents of autistic children is also a good opportunity for them to meet, share and encourage each other. The process of intervention for autistic children is very long and requires a lot of effort, parents need confidence and motivation from people in the same situation," Dr. Huong expressed.

At the program, doctors and psychologists shared with parents some occupational therapy activities for autistic children.

Many occupational therapy activities for autistic children are shared at the program for parents to intervene with their children at home.

Master of Psychology Nguyen Thi Hong Thuy said that through play, children can develop physical, social, emotional and cognitive skills.

Play activities impact brain development, stimulate neural connections and help children focus, thereby supporting future learning; help children experience and regulate emotional states, both positive and negative.

In particular, when parents participate in playing with their children, it will strengthen the bond between parents and children, helping children become more confident in themselves.

At the program, parents are provided with a lot of other knowledge to better understand how to intervene for children at home.

Source: https://nhandan.vn/thau-hieu-va-dong-hanh-cung-cha-me-co-con-tu-ky-post868781.html